


a silent name

by Anonymous



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: A3! Big Bang, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Mild Horror Themes and Depictions, Spirited Away AU, romance isn't the focus here but it is present
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29971284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: An outing with his coworkers gone wrong leaves Itaru Chigasaki stranded and trapped in the strange world of the spirits. There he meets April, a strange but friendly spirit with a strange interest in Itaru, as well as several others, both friendly and not as he searches for a way home.And yet, Itaru is drawn to April and the mysteries surrounding him, and can't bring himself to ignore it.(A spirited away AU!)
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru & Mikage Hisoka, Chigasaki Itaru & Rurikawa Yuki, Chigasaki Itaru/Utsuki Chikage
Comments: 8
Kudos: 8
Collections: A3! Big Bang 2021, Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers! I've been working on this for a while now, so I hope you all enjoy it! I was hoping to have more of this prewritten than I do, but college happened :/

They were lost. So, so lost. Itaru had been concerned ten minutes ago when they still hadn’t gotten to the bar his boss had _begged_ him to come to, but by that point he was more or less resigned to his fate. 

He leaned his cheek against the cool window and sighed. The trees passing by were pretty enough to look at, he supposed. He would much rather be on his phone, leveling for the current event in his favorite game, but his battery was running a little low and he would prefer to save it for the bar’s bathroom. Not to mention that his boss and another employee were squished into the backseat with him, and there was no way he would be able to get his game up on his phone without the nosy ass peering over his shoulder to see what he was doing. 

His boss was so desperate to hook Itaru up with his daughter that he was almost worried he might try to get into his phone to see if he really was telling the truth about having a girlfriend. 

He wasn’t, of course. Besides his beautiful best girl, who was waiting for him on the game’s homepage to greet him, that is. (Admitting that was worse than admitting he was really single.)

Why the hell had he ever agreed to come on this stupid outing? He should have just made up an excuse again. Who cares if they call him antisocial-

The car jolted so hard he nearly bumped his head on the roof of the car. 

Damn his coworker. Learn how to drive a car. 

Looking out the window, he noticed the road they were on looked _really_ overgrown. Were they in the right place? 

He didn't have much time to wonder, however, because his coworker hit the gas even harder, and it took all his concentration just to stay in his seat. 

And then, they slammed to a jarring halt. 

“Hey, look at that!” One of them called from the front seat. 

He peeled his face from the window to look. It wasn't the stupid bar, like he was hoping. Instead, it was just some weird old tunnel. Eh. It wasn't that exciting. Maybe he should try to fall asleep, get a short nap in while they drive around aimlessly. 

He started to close his eyes when his door swung open and he pitched sideways, only staying in his seat rather than crashing to the pavement by the power of his seatbelt. 

He squeaked, and his boss, who had opened the door, laughed. He wanted to yell at him, but just awkwardly laughed along instead, hoping nobody saw the bright flush of embarrassment on his face.

He unbuckled and stepped out properly, finally seeing why they stopped. In front of the small tunnel was a big stone statue shaped like a frog, leaving the road completely impassable by car.

Good. This would get them turned around and hopefully back to civilization. He hadn't seen any buildings for a good while. Maybe he really would get home in time to keep his rank, or at least stay in the top-

“Creepy! Lets go check it out!” One of the other guys said. 

-or not. 

“Come on guys, should we be going? We’re going to be late already-”

“Don't be a buzzkill, Chigasaki! It’ll be fun! Maybe it's haunted!” 

That definitely wasn't helping to convince him. He would just sit in the car while they looked around. He’d get enough event points now that if his phone died, he’d be okay until he got home. What was his battery at anyway? As long as- 

No service. Shit. _Shit._

He wasn't getting out of this was he? Like an unskippable side quest he stumbled on by accident. 

The group started making their way through the tunnel, the guy in the lead illuminating the path with his phone flashlight. 

“Hey, do you guys smell something?” he asked, waving his light around to illuminate the walls. “I swear I can smell something cooking.”

Everybody paused for a second. Then they started chattering, some agreeing that _yeah, they could smell something!_

Itaru took a deep breath trying to catch the smell. It was faint, but there was something. 

The tunnel was unreasonably long, in Itaru’s opinion. He was far from the most athletic, but he was already breaking a sweat. He was also pretty sure it was getting warmer. 

“Ah look!” 

One of them pointed, and Itaru looked up. He had been so latched onto the ground that he didn't see them reach the end of the tunnel. When he looked up, he saw that the end of the tunnel had opened up, connecting into some large building. It seemed to be an old church, or something like that. It was almost empty, save for a handful of benches, so its purpose wasn't really clear. The faded red paint, the cracks in the stone walls and the substantial layer of dust coating everything made it clear the place was long abandoned. 

And if Itaru knew anything about games, they were bound to get a cutscene announcing a hidden boss any minute. 

Nothing happened, though, and they stepped outside untouched. 

The view outside was rather lovely, if not widely unexpected. Vast rolling hills? This didn't look anything like where they left the car. 

His coworkers were clearly unsatisfied - unfortunately for Itaru - and so they pressed on, hiking up the hill to discover the horizon of a small town at the crest.

Cutting through the hills was a large cutout lined with rocks. It was likely meant to be a river, but only a faint trickle of water remained. Itaru pathetically scrambled over the rocks, a few almost half his height and determined to trip him. 

Fortunately, or maybe _un_ fortunately, none of the others noticed his plight.

The group then hopped up a short flight of stone steps, leading up to the end of a street. The colorful buildings were lined with lamps and bright flags, but the paint was chipped and all the windows dark. From there, the faint smell of something cooking that had been just a trace fully engulfed them, coiling around them, invisibly seductive.

Curiously, when Itaru looked closely, every single one of the buildings seemed to be a restaurant. Nearly all of them had big, brightly colored signs or tattered banners hanging above them. They all appeared to be written in Japanese, but Itaru couldn't tell what any of them said, no matter how long he looked. 

The group wandered down the street, Itaru trailing behind anxiously. The farther they went, the worse the curling sense that they were doing something wrong became. 

They found the source of the smell fast enough, on the first corner: one of the open-air shops had a counter laden with heaps of food; an endless supply of fresh meats and fried delights. 

Itaru’s boss walked up to the shop, brushing back the curtain to peer in the back.

“Hello? Is anybody here?” 

When nobody replied, he turned back to the others and shrugged.

“Eh, it's fine! I can pay them back later,” his boss said, dramatically flashing his shiny credit card. “Let's dig in! We can't let this all get cold!”

Itaru looked over at the food, but something in his stomach twisted, and all the fancy food suddenly lost its appeal. 

The others clearly didn't share his reservation - they all brushed past him and promptly sat themselves in the other counter seats, enthusiastically piling food onto plates. 

Itaru watched his boss take a chicken leg and tear into it with a carnal vigor. The sight of the grease mixing with his spit dribbling down his chin almost made Itaru gag and he backed away.

“Boss?” he asked. 

He didn't even turn around to look at Itaru, but began slurping at the empty plate that had just been laden with fried chicken, leaving behind more slobber than anything.

What the hell happened to them? 

The sight only grew more sickening as he watched, frozen in place. One of his coworkers had forgone the dishes completely and had half climbed onto the counter to stuff the food straight into his mouth. 

The lingering allure of the food was almost completely gone, and just standing there made the outcome of vomiting on the spot more and more likely. 

He backed up farther, crashing into one of the stools from the vendor behind him. With one last glance, he whirled around and sprinted away, going as far down the street as he could and only stopping when he couldn't hear them anymore. 

It was a pretty place, Itaru realized, when he stopped to get a look around. Only a short ways down the street the buildings opened up into a grassy hill, bright green and dotted with flowers. At the top of the slope was a large red-painted bridge leading to another building, this one far larger and more lavish than those on the street behind him. The design reminded him somewhat of the old temples and palaces he saw in Kyoto, when he went several years ago for a class trip in high school.

His gaze traced up, trying to count how many floors it was. When he reached the top, his attention latched onto something else. He had to crane his neck and squint at the glaring sunlight, but looking at the roof, he could swear he saw smoke curling from one of the pipes peeking out the top. 

Wasn't the place abandoned?

Leaving the street, he walked across the grass and onto the bridge. From there, he had no doubt that there was smoke coming from the building. Maybe there were some people still here.

And if there were people, maybe there was service! He pulled out his phone to check and-

“Who’s there?” 

Itaru whirled around. Heading towards him from the other side of the bridge was a tall man, probably around his age. He was strange-looking for sure, with his green hair and traditional clothes, but a person was a person, and Itaru didn't have the capacity to care. All that mattered was that he wasn't completely alone here.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Itaru called out in his fakest, politest tone. “I am afraid my colleagues and I have gotten lost. Do you possibly have a phone I could borrow-”

The man sprinted the rest of the distance between them, abruptly fisting his hands in Itaru’s collar as he forced him against the side of the bridge. Itaru twisted, trying to relieve some of the pressure off his back but the man just pressed him harder, forcing the edge of the wood to dig into his back. 

“How the hell did you get here? Why aren’t you-”

He cut himself off and lifted his gaze to the sky. Itaru kept his gaze on the man, and noticed that the sunlight that was just illuminating his face had dropped, and his features were now cast in shadow. Looking up, he saw the mid-afternoon sky fall into dusk. 

“W-what… How?” 

The man glared at him like it was entirely his fault. 

It probably was, honestly, but at least it wasn't intentional. He definitely didn't know how to abruptly set the sun. If he had, he might have been able to get out of a lot more work. 

“You need to leave. Get out of here!” He started running, grip still tight in Itaru’s collar. Itaru stumbled but caught himself, managing to keep up. When they reached the edge of the bridge, the man shoved him the last few inches onto the grass. 

Faintly, Itaru noticed the light at the entrance to the building on the other side of the bridge flicker on. 

“I’ll distract them, but you need to go, okay?” 

Itaru nodded, without really understanding. 

He adjusted his tie and started walking back to where he had left his coworkers. This guy really didn't want them there, and if it was already so late, they had been there longer than he thought. 

He pulled out his phone to check the time, but when he clicked it on, nothing happened. It couldn't have died, he didn't have that little battery. What was happening?

Either way, he thought, they should just get out of here. He went back to the street, his steps speeding up as he went. 

He didn't see the shop lights flickering on one by one as he ran past, nor the shadowy forms populating the no-longer-abandoned street. 

Itaru turned the corner where his colleagues were and stopped. Shattered plates and scraps littered the ground around the counter where they sat, still eating, more and more and more. 

“Boss? Sir, don't you think we should get going?” He noticed that his boss looked, well, larger than usual, but he didn't think much of it until he placed his hand on his boss’ shoulder and he turned. 

His face was not his face but that of a pig, slop dribbling from his mouth as he mindlessly shoveled down food. When it saw Itaru it screeched, an awful, garbled, piercing sound. As it did, a flow of foul black slick poured from its mouth, flooding over pointed, stained teeth and dribbling down its body and off the counter into a puddle on the ground that mingled with the shards of plates and bowls and uneaten food.

Itaru’s knees wobbled and he stumbled back. His foot slipped on a puddle of the same black slick and he crashed to the ground with a cry of shock. 

His boss turned into a pig. Everybody turned into a pig and it was just him, alone. All alone, without anybody but the weird guy who yelled at him to leave. What was he going to do? What should he do? 

Bracing himself on a stool, he dragged himself to his feet. 

In his panic he hadn't realized that the streets were no longer abandoned. Looking around, countless humanoid forms wandered about, as dark and translucent as shadows. One turned toward him. Its eyes were empty and pale. Its pulsing limb that was likely meant to be an arm reached out, only inches from his face. 

He jumped back and once he was back on the road, he bolted, heading back to the tunnel, nearly tripping in his hurry. 

The sky was pitch black by then, and he could hardly see where he was going once the light of the now-fully illuminated town was left behind him. He sprinted to the stairs they’d come up when they first arrived, and made his way down them until the next step landed his foot in water. 

He recoiled with a squeak and looked down. The river that before had been nonexistent had overflowed, flooding all the way up the steps. The building at the mouth of the tunnel, which had been so close before, seemed miles away. 

Itaru collapsed onto the steps, ignoring the painful edge digging into his back, pressing his palms against his eyes.

This all was a dream, it had to be. He stayed up too late playing his new game, that's it. He just needed to close his eyes, and make it all go away. Wake up and go to work with his normal, perfectly human boss. He would open his eyes in a few minutes and find himself asleep at his computer. It was all going to go away. Disappear. Skip the dream sequence already, he wanted to get back to the game! Everything will just go back to normal. Open his eyes and- 

He was still there, on the steps, alone in the dark. 

He curled further into himself. It was cold. The water that soaked the hems of his pants and socks only made it worse. With only his slacks and dress shirt, he had nothing to warm himself.

It was probably warmer in town, with all the lights and heated skillets, but the thought of going anywhere near there made him feel sick.

Wrapping his arms as tightly as he could around his knees, Itaru looked out at the impossibly vast body of water spreading out in front of him and the lights, far far away. What was over there? Was it the ‘normal’ world? Or just more of this strange nightmare land?

His attention caught then, on a bright glow too close to be from the town. It was coming from a ferry, strung with lights. 

He watched it move closer, and eventually dock just a short distance away from where he sat. He could see strange, inhuman figures appearing from their rooms and lining up to depart. Floating masks without bodies, formless masses of shadow, a strange beast in a yukata, among others, all made their way off the boat and onto the pathway leading up to the bridge. 

When he looked back down, he noticed something else in the ferry’s light. 

His skin, which had always been very pale, was fading before his eyes. Staring at his hands, he realized with growing horror that he could see the water _through_ them. 

Rubbing his eyes vigorously did nothing, and looking down, he realized that it wasn't just his hands. His whole body was becoming transparent. 

What was happening? Why wouldn't he wake up? Was he going to disappear? He didn't know what to do or how to fix this. 

He tried to clutch at his shirt to ground himself, but his hand just went through the fabric. He couldn't help the choked sob that pushed past his clenched teeth. Too afraid to see what would happen if he tried touching his own skin, he just bundled his hands into fists, eyes burning. 

“So you’re still here.” 

Itaru whipped around, his ghost-like appearance almost forgotten. There was the green-haired man from before, standing above him at the top of the stairs. 

The mix of shock and relief at seeing him again broke the dam holding back his growing flood of emotion and he burst into tears. 

He tried to say something but his mouth just gaped like a fish, nothing coming out. _Please, help me,_ he wanted to say. _I don't want to vanish._

He must have understood anyway, as the man walked down the steps to crouch next to Itaru. 

In a tone much softer and gentler than his harsh shouting earlier, he said, “Hey. It’ll be alright. Just focus on my voice. Yeah, there you go. Deep breaths.”

Itaru did as he was told, slowly forcing his heaving breaths down into something like a calm pace. 

“Good.” The man reached out and placed a warm hand on Itaru’s arm. That made Itaru jolt in shock, only kept in place by the impressive strength of the man’s hold. 

“What- how?” How was he able to touch him?

“You don’t belong here, in this world,” he said without answering the question. “That’s why you’re fading away.”

He reached out and placed his free hand on Itaru’s jaw, his grip somehow both intimidating and intimate. 

“What do you want, Chigasaki?”

The way his name sounded in the man’s voice sent a shiver through Itaru and he could barely whisper, “Please. I don't want to disappear.”

The soft smile that cracked that chilly exterior told Itaru he made the right choice. 

He didn't question how the man knew his name, though the fact that he had definitely never said it aloud to him lingered anxiously in the back of his mind.

“Good. Now,” he said as he reached into the folds of his clothes, producing some small fruit. “I need you to eat this.”

Itaru froze. 

It looked harmless enough, just some purple berry pinched between his fingertips. But at the sight of it, images of his boss and his colleagues flooded his mind: memories of them eating and eating and eating until they were pigs, literal pigs, covered in slop and ready to slaughter. 

Was that going to happen to him? He wouldn't let it. He couldn’t. He _couldn’t._

He jerked back, the grip on his face breaking. His legs flailed as he tried to back away but the man’s vice-grip on his arm wouldn't give and he knew he was trapped. 

“What,” The man accented this with a renewed grip of Itaru’s chin, holding him still and forcing him to stare into the other’s eyes, “Are you doing.”

“I-I-” 

Itaru’s eyes flicked rapidly between the man’s face and the food in his hands, silently begging him. None of his words would come out and he couldn't even shake his head, but somehow he must have understood, because the hold on his arm softened a little bit. 

“If you eat something from this world, you’ll be temporarily attached here, which means you won't disappear. This won't turn you into a pig. I promise.”

Reluctantly Itaru relaxed, and stopped straining against his hands. 

“Good.” 

Using the hand he still had on Itaru’s chin, the man gently opened Itaru’s mouth, pressing the fruit between his lips. 

It was sweet. 

The man let go of him then, and hoisted Itaru to his feet, and he quickly realized all of the adrenaline from the last hour had drained away, and his knees buckled. 

If not for the quick hands under his arm and around his waist, he would likely have dropped right back onto the steps.

“Come on,” he said. “I'll help you if you need me to, but we need to go.”

Itaru took a deep breath, willing his legs back into working motion. When he nodded, the hand moved from his waist to his own hand, their fingers twining together and they started running. 

Somehow, even with his weak legs that hadn't so much as touched cardio since middle school, he managed to keep pace with the man in front of him. 

Maybe it was the renewed adrenaline, or the magic of that place, or maybe it was simply the warmth of another’s hand in his own. 

When they reached the bridge, their pace slowed and they silently slipped into the flow of all the spirits that came off the ferry.

“Once you step onto the bridge you have to hold your breath,” the man whispered. “Otherwise they’ll find out you're human. Understand?”

Itaru nodded, and squeezed his hand. 

With the biggest breath he could take, they stepped onto the first plank of the bridge. 

It wasn't all that long, but they had to keep a walking pace to avoid catching attention and each step seemed to take _minutes_. They somehow managed to make it to the end, with just a few more steps to go and-

“April! Fancy seeing you here!” came a voice from behind. Itaru jumped, and to his horror, gasped out an involuntary breath.

The bridge went dead silent, then instantly exploded into chatter. 

“A human?”

“I smell a human!”

“Where is it?”

“Shit. _Shit._ ” The man whirled around and swiftly scooped Itaru into his arms and sprinted down the rest of the bridge. Itaru had hardly managed to process what happened before he was dropped, tucked away from the now agitated crowd. 

“I...I’m sorry. This is my fault.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I asked a lot of you.” He knelt down in front of Itaru and brushed away his fringe, resting two fingers on his forehead.

Instantly, an unfamiliar image appeared in Itaru’s mind. A long set of rickety old stairs. At the bottom, a solitary door. 

“That’s where you need to go, okay? You don't belong in this world so a lot of the occupants here will try to get rid of you. But if you can find work, they won't be able to hurt you. It might be hard work, but I need you to do this. Find the person who runs the boilers named Tsuzuru and ask him for work. If he says no, pester him until he gives in. If you can make it long enough for me to figure out how to make your friends return to normal, you can all leave safely. Do you understand?” 

“I do.” 

“Good. Now hurry. I’ll try to calm everybody down, so keep your head low.” He stood up and turned to leave. In an instant a flash of terror filled Itaru, and he jumped to his feet and grasped at his companion’s sleeve. 

“Please! Don't leave me.” Itaru cringed at how pathetic he sounded, but he didn't let go. 

He turned back. “I’m sorry. But I have to go.”

“I don't even know your name.” Itaru said. 

The man smiled then. It was a small smile, but it was very warm. 

“My name is April, and I have known you for as long as I can remember.” 

And then he was gone. 

Itaru was left in shock. He wanted to go after the man -April- but he had no idea where he had gone. What would he say anyway? 

He couldn't deny that the sight of April left him with a longing familiarity, like he was special, somehow. 

Huh. He wondered why. It didn't matter right then, though. 

He needed to get a job. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itaru meets some friends(?) and gets a job.

He couldn't do this. There was no way. Those stairs? April wanted him to go down  _ those  _ stairs? No thank you, Itaru liked his spine fully intact, thank you very much. That flight of stairs had to be the worst health risk since the body odor issue in his office’s bathroom. 

And of course, it had to be the only way to reach the boiler room, where he could supposedly find a job. 

The wood looked a couple pounds of pressure from collapsing, and considering that this was oh-so smartly built along the side of a  _ very  _ steep cliff that he could barely see the bottom of, it collapsing would be generally very bad for his health. 

Damn magical spirit people. They probably didn't weigh anything either, and the steps were more for the aesthetic. That was about the only way he was willing to justify that architectural decision. 

He was seriously willing to give up, when April’s words came to mind. 

_ “You don't belong in this world so a lot of the occupants here will try to get rid of you. But if you can find work, they won't be able to hurt you.” _

Deep breath in, deep breath out. 

He could do this. 

He stepped gingerly onto the first board. It creaked, but held. With a sigh of relief, Itaru took another step. 

He made it halfway down when he felt the step give. With a shriek, he bolted down the rest of the steps, nearly tripping several times until he reached the bottom, barely saving himself from crashing face first into the wall across from the last step. 

Off to a good start. 

He adjusted his tie -a nervous habit or sorts- as he caught his breath. His heart had already been pounding from terror, what was a little extra adrenaline on top of that? 

It was gloomier down there, the only sounds being the groaning  _ pshhh  _ of smoke billowing from the maze of pipes winding all around the building and the occasional echo of a train horn from somewhere far, far below. 

The door, thick and metal, was lit by a solitary bulb dangling by a wire. Its frame loomed over him like a warning to turn back, but Itaru shoved down his rising anxieties and grabbed hold of the handle, dragging open the hefty door. 

It was immediately warmer inside, to Itaru’s appreciation. The doorway opened to a dimly lit hallway; the warm glow that shone at the end of the hall guided him away from the door. He crept down the hall, surrounded by massive gears that creaked and groaned. 

Halfway through he nearly jumped out of his pants when a large burst of steam shot out of a joint in a pipe inches from his face. 

At the end was a thin curtain. Brushing it aside enough to peer in, he could see it opened up into a small room. At the forefront was a massive coal boiler, clearly the source of the heat that could be felt from the door. It was also a sign that he had reached his destination. 

Gingerly creeping into the room, he could see that all of the walls were lined with small filing boxes. A couple were open, all of them nearly bursting with paper. 

In the left corner sat a desk up on a platform, overseeing the room. A figure in a tall hat was sitting at it, their back to Itaru. 

To his surprise, the next thing Itaru noticed was the floor, which was covered in little black specks all scurrying around in a big hurry. Crouching to look closer, he saw that they were carrying little lumps of coal to the boiler and dropping them in. Then they would scurry back to the little mouseholes lining the walls just above the floor, only to reappear moments later, carrying more coal. 

He almost laughed aloud. It was cute, like something out of one of his games.

He stepped farther into the room to take a better look, accidentally blocking the specks’ path. Several of them collided with his feet and fell over with a squeak, their cargo rolling away. 

“Sorry!” He whispered, clumsily trying to step aside. Unfortunately, it didn't help much and they continued to crash into his feet. 

Eventually, he managed to move to the back corner, where there were only a few. 

He looked back up to the man at the desk. He must be Tsuzuru, who he was told to go to for work. 

From there, he could see him more clearly, and he noticed that the western style of his waistcoat and top hat stood out starkly among the other denizens of this place, who all dressed very traditionally Japanese. He didn’t have the time to sit and ponder it, however.

He fixed his tie, patted down his pants and ran his hands through his hair (which was already so wind tousled that it didn't do much). It wasn't going to help him, not really, but he had been so used to relying on appearances at work that it was almost instinctual at that point. 

Once he had groomed himself the best he could, Itaru stepped around the specks with their coal as he went over to the desk.

The man didn't look up, so he cleared his throat and said, “Excuse me?”

No reply. 

He peered at the desk, which was covered in neat stacks of paper. One stack’s papers were all blank, and the other four piles lined up next to it were all filled out. Squinting at the small, print-like writing, he thought he could make out a couple of words, but nothing coherent. Pen in hand, Tsuzuru was writing and sorting them at an incredible pace. Every few moments he would reach out his arm, crooking his finger. When he did that, the file he pointed at would open, and a new paper would fly out and land squarely on the desk, at which point he would begin to write again. 

Itaru called again, his first attempts clearly unnoticed. “Tsuzuru-san?”

A painful few moments of silence passed before Tsuzuru finally looked up. 

“What?” He asked, his tone making it clear that he wasn’t very invested in whatever Itaru had to say. 

“Good evening!” Itaru smiled. He had, without even trying, slipped into the tone of voice he used whenever talking to somebody at work. “I am terribly sorry to bother you, but I was told I could find work here. I would be incredibly grateful if-”

“No thanks. I have enough help.” Without another glance, he went right back to his papers. 

How rude. Itaru knew he ought to push more, but he never liked bothering people he didn't know, so he stepped away and back towards the coal dust. He could try again in a few minutes.

He crouched down where he was out of the way and watched the little specks ferry their coal lumps around. He could see why his help wasn’t needed, he was more in the way than anything. Maybe he would just-

A clatter, and a high pitched squeak broke Itaru from his thoughts. 

Looking down, one of the specks struggling with a particularly sizable lump had dropped its load, completely squashing itself. Its miniscule limbs stuck out, waving frantically.

Itaru stood up and moved toward it. He could help a little, at least. He grabbed the coal, doing a double take at the weight. 

Despite it being palm-sized, it was far heavier than any lump of coal was in  _ his _ world. He didn't put it down though, lugging it over to the boiler. He faintly noticed the specks crowding around his feet as he went, possibly as some sort of encouragement. 

The boiler was painfully hot, and he could already feel pricks of sweat beading on his forehead just from being in the proximity. With his last few steps, he reached the boiler and chucked it as hard as he could into the blaze, springing away as soon as it was out of his hands. 

The specks, which had all been crowding around him stopped then; they stared at him with huge eyes then promptly, in almost perfect synchrony, dropped their coal onto themselves like the first one had, squeaking in melodramatic anguish. 

The sudden drop in productivity finally caught Tsuzuru’s attention and he looked over to Itaru. 

“What did you do?” He scowled. 

“Nothing!” Itaru raised his hands . “I was just trying to be helpful.”

Tsuzuru’s face told him that  _ he  _ didn't find the help all that helpful. He rammed his fist a couple times on the desk, startling the specks back to work. 

“Go be helpful somewhere else. I have no use for you here.” A small red tag on a string abruptly dropped from a hatch in the ceiling, fully drawing Tsuzuru’s attention away.

Itaru almost went to protest again when a loud scrape of wood dragged his attention to one of the walls. A small panel, one of the few not covered by the stacks of filing boxes, slid open and a person crawled through. 

He stood up, adjusted his apron and slid closed the panel behind him. In his arms was a large basket. 

“Hey Tsuzuru,” he said, pulling a large, steaming bowl of something from the basket and setting it on his desk. 

“Hey Yuki,” He said without looking up. 

“Dishes?” The person, Yuki, held out a hand, making a grabby motion with it. 

Without looking up or ceasing his writing, he reached under his desk and produced an empty bowl, setting it in Yuki’s waiting hand. 

Yuki moved from the desk to the rest of the room where the specks were still hard at work and reached into the basket, producing a fistful of tiny, colorful stars. 

He threw the stars at the flecks, who immediately stopped work to rush them, eagerly scooping them with their tiny limbs. Yuki watched with a small smile as they bounced around joyously.

And then Yuki finally noticed Itaru, his eyes as big as saucers. He stiffened up, jabbing a finger at Itaru.

“Eh? What the hell are  _ you _ doing here? You’re the human that everybody has been going batshit looking for!” He whirled around to face Tsuzuru. “Why do you have  _ this  _ in your boiler room?” 

Tsuzuru shrugged. “Don’t ask me. He just showed up.”

Yuki turned back to Itaru, jabbing his finger again, but with a little more anger in it, if pointing fingers can be angry. “Why are you in the boiler room?”

This person didn't seem like they would have much patience for ‘businessman Itaru’, so he didn't bother faking his smile or pitching his voice. 

“I was told to come here to find work.” An honest response, but it didn't seem to satisfy.

Yuki looked him up and down, an incredibly skeptical look on his face. “You wanted to work in the  _ boiler _ ?”

What was that supposed to mean? Itaru opened his mouth to ask just that, when Tsuzuru spoke up. 

“Help him out, would you, Yuki? I really have no need for any more hands down here. Couldn't he help upstairs in the baths?”

Both Yuki and Itaru turned to the desk in surprise, a small smile forming on Itaru’s face. It was comforting to know Tsuzuru cared, even a little bit. 

“You want me to have him work up there with the ladies? They would eat him alive.”

Tsuzuru rolled his eyes. “With you, he would be just fine.”

“Do I  _ have _ to?” 

“I’ll make you some omurice next time I’m on break.”

Yuki groaned, but finally gave in. “Fine. Human, come with me.”

Without looking back Yuki scooped up the basket and went back through the panel in the wall. Itaru quickly followed, awkwardly crouching down to fit through. He was tugging his left leg through when Yuki turned back to him. 

“Tsuzuru just got you a job and you aren’t even going to thank him? How rude are you?”

Itaru flushed and pulled himself back through, swiftly bowing to Tsuzuru. He said nothing, but offered a slight nod and a faint smile. Itaru smiled back and returned to follow Yuki. 

The panel led to another hallway, lined with even more pipes and gears and valves, more than he could possibly count, even if he had actually wanted to count them. 

As they went, Yuki began talking again. 

“Do you have any job qualifications? Any skills?”

“Uh, yes? I have several years experience in white-collar work, including-”

“So that's a no.”

Itaru huffed. This little person had quite the mouth on him. 

“What kind of work will I be doing? I don't actually know what this place is, so ...” His voice trailed off. 

Yuki turned around enough to scowl at him. Yuki really like scowling. 

“How the hell did you get this far without even knowing where you are?” Without letting Itaru answer, he continued. “This place is a bathhouse for the spirit world. Visitors will come to purify and refresh their souls so they won’t become corrupt or fade away.”

They reached the end of the hall, then, where an elevator was waiting for them. They stepped inside, and Yuki punched in the button for the top floor. 

When the doors closed, Yuki continued. “As you can tell by my uniform, I work in cleaning. Since you’re apparently assigned to me, that’s where you will work too. Scrubbing floors, cleaning the tubs, that sort of stuff.”

That didn't seem too bad. 

“Is that where we’re going, then?” He asked. 

Yuki shook his head. “You need to go upstairs to get approval from the Director before you’re actually allowed to work. I wouldn't be too worried though. She isn't exactly picky.”

The way Yuki said that sounded almost bitter, though Itaru didn’t linger on it. “The Director?”

“Yeah. Izumi. Izumi Tachibana. She’s the one in charge of the whole place, so you’d better be nice.”

The elevator slowed to a halt. 

“Damn,” Yuki cursed. “This one doesn't go all the way up. Follow me, we’ll have to switch.”

Itaru nodded, following Yuki out of the elevator. Except- 

Standing just in front of the elevator, firmly blocking their exit was a young man, his smile as bright as his hair. He turned at the sound of their steps, and, seeing Yuki, broke into a grin. 

“Yuki! Perfect timing! I was just looking for you! I had some questions about the current project and-” His voice trailed off when his gaze flicked up and he saw Itaru. 

Itaru could tell before his mouth even opened he was going to scream. His finger flew to his lips in a shushing motion, hoping to get him to stay quiet, but it didn't do any good. 

“Ehhhh? A human!”

Shit. 

With the speed of somebody talented in dealing with major fuck-ups, Yuki sliced his index finger through the air in front of the boy’s face, instantly silencing him. He then whirled around, taking Itaru by the shoulders and shoving him out of the elevator. 

“The elevator you need is just across the balcony. Go!”

Stumbling out onto the balcony, Itaru started to run, but froze. 

Yuki’s nagging voice, which had somehow taken over as the sound of his own consciousness, was telling him he was in enemy territory and he needed to  _ move _ , but he couldn't bring himself to listen, his attention entirely captivated. 

The bathhouse from the outside was incredible in its own right, but his only look at it from the inside so far had been the boiler room. 

That couldn't even begin to compare. The elevator had let them out on a balcony on one of the upper floors -how tall was this place anyway? It seemed to go up for ages- and with the open-floor architecture, he could see the entire bathhouse. 

The whole place was decked out in rich shades of green and red, with glimmering gold trim on every possible surface. The numerous light fixtures which hung down from the high-reaching ceiling were at least as tall as Itaru himself. 

Every floor was bustling with life, from absurd creatures to people adorned in robes that looked more like mosaics than clothing.

It looked like something from one of his video games, only it was real, and it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. 

A rough hand on his back broke him out of his reverie. 

“Move!” Yuki barked, pushing him across the balcony. Itaru could hear a growing chatter behind them. People were starting to notice him, and he had to get out. 

He quickly moved into the elevator, slamming down the lever. Right before the shrinking gap closed, he caught a glimpse of Yuki sending a thumbs up and he smiled. 

The second the door closed, the residual noise of a busy bathhouse that he barely noticed before stood out in its absence. Aside from the soft whirring of whatever mechanics the elevator ran on, the trip was completely silent. 

To his relief, the elevator didn't stop again, moving steadily to the top floor. 

After what felt like far longer than any normal elevator ride, he arrived with a chime at the top floor. 

The room was dimly lit, the faint source of light not coming from anywhere Itaru could see. 

Unlike the rest of the place, the design was decidedly western. Maroon wallpaper, shiny wooden chests and delicately painted vases all cluttered the room. Each of the walls had a door embedded in them as well, the frame dark and delicately carved with pretty patterns.

He turned to look for this Director he was sent to find, and as he did, the door he was facing swung open all on its own. It seemed incredibly suspicious, but everything there did and he hadn't died yet, so he went through. 

It wasn't the only door either- after passing through he entered a hallway and was guided through another door, then another hallway, and three more rooms in this maze of a floor before it finally opened up into a much larger room. 

In the middle of the room was a great big desk. It was cluttered with stacks of paper, colorful boxes with mysterious trinkets peeking out of them, and a large bowl filled with what appeared to be shiny, wrapped candies. Seated at the desk was a young woman with a gentle face and long brown hair.

“Welcome.” She smiled as she greeted him, and her presence immediately put Itaru at ease. “I’ve heard you were coming.”

He didn't question how she knew. Everybody in this strange world knew more about him than they ought to. 

She crooked her finger at him and he stepped forward without thinking. 

“So, I heard you’re looking for a job.”

Itaru smiled as politely as he could and nodded. He didn't know how to deal with spirits and magic, but he knew how to talk to a superior. 

Prod and prod some more, but always back off. Let them feel like they’re in control. 

“And why should I hire you? You’re a human, an intruder here. Nobody trusts you. It would be much easier to let me turn you into a lump of coal, wouldn't it?”

Working sounded like a pain. A giant, massive pain in the ass. But this place felt a whole hell of a lot more like a video game level. A really weird one, but he didn't quit when it came to games. So, Itaru bowed, back almost parallel to the ground. “Please.”

  
  
  


She stared at him just a bit too intensely, for a bit too long for his liking. 

Then she smiled. “Alright. You seem like you’ll be a lot of fun.”

She reached down into a drawer in her desk, fishing out a form. She held it out to Itaru, along with a plumed quill she materialized out of nowhere. 

He took it with a polite nod and started to look it over. It was a work contract of some sort, according to the title. His eyes trailed down the page, unintentionally skimming the lengthy paragraphs as he realized how extensive the contract was. The idea of signing anything he hadn't thoroughly read over was an unsettling one indeed, but he was going to have to sign it no matter the terms, wasn't he? Maybe it was better not knowing what he was about to consent to. 

Carefully, he printed out his name on the line at the bottom and handed back the form. 

The Director looked it over, tracing her finger over his neatly printed characters. 

“Itaru Chigasaki, is it? You have a lovely name.” She said. “You’d best be very careful with it. I can’t help you if you lose it.”

Without explaining her cryptic words, she coiled it up and vanished it into nothing with a flourish. 

“You're hired!” As she said that, her smile dropped to a more serious expression. “Before you leave, there is something I would like to know.”

Itaru nodded, but it was a little stiff.

“How did you manage to get in here? I could believe you refused the food on your own, but there is no way you could have managed to get inside alone. Even if you bound yourself here long enough to cross the bridge, April would have killed you long before you ever made it this far in. So, how did you do it?”

Huh? 

Itaru froze. What did she just say? April would have  _ killed _ him? Her expression was curious, rather than accusatory, but he couldn't help but feel like he did something really wrong. 

“You said April?” He croaked out. He cleared his throat, but his voice still wavered. “April was the one who saved me. He was the one that told me I needed a job.”

It was Izumi’s turn to freeze. She stared at him, eyes narrow with suspicious disbelief. 

“Tall? With green hair?” She asked, brushing her hand across her forehead in a pantomime of his haircut. Itaru nodded vigorously. Her friendly expression, which had faded some in the last few minutes, vanished completely. 

With a smile that didn't reach her eyes, she reached out her hand. He took it tentatively, and they shook. 

“You are allowed to go downstairs and begin work now. Contact me if any of the other workers are giving you difficulties.”

Staying put, Itaru said, “But- about April-”

“Leave. Now.” She flicked her fingers and he slid toward the exit, unable to stop himself. 

As soon as he crossed the doorway, the door slammed shut and locked with a harsh click. Still reeling from the sudden attitude change and without any other option, he made his way back to the elevator. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some bubbly new companions join the party, and a secret meeting occurs.

Halfway through the trip down, the elevator stopped. 

Itaru was a little nervous as he waited for the doors to slide open. Without Yuki with him, he wasn't really sure how he would handle getting caught. Except, he had a job this time, so it would be fine, right? 

It didn't matter anyway. When the doors opened, who stepped through them was the last person he was expecting. 

“April?” He asked. Izumi’s words from just a few minutes rang in his head, but he forced them down. April  _ saved  _ him. He wouldn't hurt him now. Right? 

April looked up from the ground, where his gaze had been locked. For a split second, his eyes widened in surprise, but almost instantly they shifted back to disdainful apathy. He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the bottom floor, not once looking back at Itaru. 

“April?” He tried again, softer. 

Completely ignored. 

Unable to suppress a hot flash of hurt, he turned away, subconsciously drawing in his shoulders. 

What was wrong with him? He thought again about Izumi’s words. Maybe this was the April she mentioned, and the other was a clone? A secret twin? A good-cop bad-cop thing? It all sounded ridiculous. 

But… whoever this was, it didn’t feel like April.

When the elevator stopped with a chime on his floor, Itaru walked out without a second glance. 

  
  


He had come out on the main floor, it seemed. All sorts of workers and guests were bustling around, many of them in the same pink uniform as Yuki. 

Every time one of them saw him they would stop and stare, muttering amongst themselves as he walked by. 

Self-consciously, Itaru hunched his shoulders, walking faster. 

  
  
  


He eventually found Yuki again. When he saw Itaru, he lit up in an unexpectedly warm smile. 

“You made it!” He moved forward, like he was considering a hug, but stopped himself.

“Didn’t you say she wasn't a picky boss?” 

Yuki smirked, like he just remembered how to be snarky. “She isn't, but considering how pathetic you are I couldn't be sure.”

Itaru laughed, but even to his own ears he sounded stiff. Yuki immediately softened. 

“She  _ did _ give you a job, right?” His tone softened. An unfamiliar sound coming from the sharp-tongued Yuki.

“Of course!” Itaru waved it off, his business smile plastered on perfectly. “You underestimate my exceptional charm.”

Yuki scoffed. Although he didn't spit out a retort, he looked like he wanted to press the topic. 

He didn’t though, and turned around, gesturing at Itaru to follow him. “First thing, let's get you a uniform. Nobody is going to take you seriously in that getup.” 

Itaru looked down at his clothes. Button-up, slacks and a tie. Sure, they were wrinkly and smudged with coal, but still perfectly respectable in their own right.

Winding past several other workers, they moved to the back of the floor, where a small staircase was tucked. 

“This is where we sleep,” Yuki explained as they went up. “We can find you a futon later, but for now you just need a uniform.”

The stairs opened up into a smaller room, floored with tatami. The opposite wall was made of sliding doors that opened up on a balcony, overlooking the cliff behind the bathhouse. 

All along the side walls were cubbies and shelves, filled with rolled up futons and stacks of pink uniforms. 

Yuki went to the far left section, pulling out and stuffing back in several sets before handing one to Itaru. 

He took it and held the top up to himself. The hem didn't even reach past his stomach. He handed it back to Yuki, who rolled his eyes but put it back and pulled out another. 

“You’ve got some seriously annoying proportions, Mr. human,” Yuki complained. 

“I have a name, you know.” 

“I know.” Yuki threw another set at Itaru. This one was certainly bigger, too much so. 

“I’ll look like a circus tent in this!” Itaru whined. “Don't you have one that’s actually my size?” 

Yuki shot him a vicious glare, which Itaru took as a  _ no _ . 

“I’ll look for a better one soon, so just deal with it for now, okay?” He turned to leave. “Get dressed. I'll be outside.”

Despite the oversized tunic and cutesy colors, replacing his work clothes with them felt immensely satisfying. 

He stared at the folded clothes for a moment before stuffing them into an open cubby, wondering how long it would be before he would put them back on. 

  
  


When he exited, Yuki nodded in approval. 

“Pink suits you,” he said, stepping behind Itaru to tie the white bow in the back, completing the ensemble. 

“The tubs are all cleaned by now, since it’s so late, so you won’t be doing any work tonight. I’ll show you around first, and then we can go to bed. Don’t drag, got it?”

Itaru nodded. 

“Good.” Yuki led them down the steps and back into the common area. He pointed out the different baths as they went, as well as where they had to check in, where they could get food, where the foreman sat. 

“You’ll wait here to greet them.” Yuki said as they walked to the entrance.

Itaru nodded in agreement, but didn’t continue as his attention was caught on something else. 

There were two figures, kneeling completely still, on opposite sides of the entryway. Both of their eyes were closed and their hands held together as if in prayer. Even compared to the bright myriad of colors all around the bathhouse, their elegant kimonos stood out, one dyed in brilliant pinks and greens, the other oranges and purples. 

Would it be an exaggeration to say he was entranced? 

When Yuki saw where Itaru’s attention was focused, he sighed. “Ah, those two-”

Before he could finish what he was saying, the one on the left, with a fluffy mop of blond hair winked one eye open, meeting Itaru’s gaze. In a flash of movement faster than Itaru could track, he whirled around and jumped up, staring at Itaru with green eyes, huge with awe. A very different sight from just a moment ago. 

“Hey, hey, Sumi,” He called to his friend. “It’s that human!”

The other one got up as well, equally enthusiastic. “Eh? He looks so normal…”

The blonde one shook his head. “He got a job, see? He’s wearing the uniform! He and Yukki are twins now~ I’m impressed, dude! You won Miss Director over fast huh? I heard April let you in. Is that true? How did you do it, man?”

Before Itaru could reply to his barrage of questions, Yuki stepped up, gently snacking the blond on the side of his head. 

“You’re being a pain, Kazunari,” He chided. “Don't ask so many questions. And Misumi, no searching him for triangles, please.”

Both of them sighed in unison, but backed off anyway.

“These two birdbrains are in charge of greeting the guests. Don’t talk to them, okay? Their brains are about as full of fluff as their gaudy robes.”

Kazunari pouted. “You’re so mean, Yukki!”

Misumi cocked an eyebrow and fisted up a handful of colorful fabric. “Didn’t you make these?”

“Yes, I did. And they’re still gaudy.”

  
  
  
  
  


After managing to snag some dumplings, the two of them returned to the [dorm room sleeping place]. 

Yuki separated from him almost immediately to go talk to his friends, so Itaru wandered to the balcony. 

Despite the late hour, it was still fairly warm out. Just a gentle breeze blew through, ruffling Itaru’s hair as it went. 

Staring out at the vast sea of water below him, he started nibbling at a dumpling. He wasn't all that hungry, but he knew he would probably need the energy. 

“Hey! Mr. Human!” A bright voice behind him called out. Peering over his shoulder, he saw somebody walking up to him. It was that kid from the elevator earlier, with the bright red hair. “Nice to meet you! My name’s Taichi!”

“Uh, hi?” He said through a mouthful of food. 

The kid’s eyes went huge. “I didn't know humans could talk! I thought they made pig sounds!” 

Oh. Well. 

“How many humans have you met before?” Itaru asked. 

“None!” His eyes were huge. “There has never ever been a human in here, at least since I started working, except for the pigs!”

That was interesting. He thought again of Izumi’s words. Was it really thanks to April that he was still alive? It had to be. After all, what did a businessman with a negative stamina stat have that nobody else did? 

Hoping to learn at least a little more, he asked, “But there have to be humans that don’t eat any of the food, right? What about them?”

The kid finally sat next to him, his brow furrowed in thought. 

“April kills them, probably.” he said. “I’ve never seen it, but that’s what everybody else says.”

Relying on rumors, huh? Oh well. 

Though, the way that kid casually mentioned April being a dangerous killer so casually made him feel a little nauseous. Ever since he came there it seems the whole world was hard pressed to remind him that the kind, if not a little brusque man he met not so long ago was nothing how he seemed.

“Who is this April, anyway?” Itaru pressed. 

“Nobody knows! He just showed up a while ago. Izumi-san says he’s from the Other Side…” Though his voice dropped to a whisper as he said the last sentence, Itaru could hear an emphasis on the last two words.

“Other side? What’s that?” 

“You don't know?!” He almost jumped up in shock, before dropping back to the floor. “Right. You’re a human. You wouldn't know.”

Itaru shook his head. 

“The Other Side, it’s where spirits go if they aren’t bound to the spirit realm.” Itaru nodded. So it was like when he almost vanished. “Spirits that are corrupted by the Other Side become evil spirits. They’re dangerous.

One of the purposes of the bath house is to erase these evil spirits. If they lose their name, and become corrupted, the waters will burn them away. For those who are only tainted and can still be saved, they will be cleansed, and protected!”

“Okay,” Itaru nodded slowly.

“That’s how I got here, actually,” Taichi admitted. His voice got quieter, like he was suddenly aware of the others in the room. “Izumi hires anybody who needs a place to belong. Many tainted spirits who come for help have nowhere else to go, and are at risk of being tainted again, and thus losing their names. So she offers a job, which grounds spirits to This Side. If it wasn't for her, who knows what might have-”

He goes quiet, and Itaru chooses not to press. 

Then he gets an idea and stands up. “Hey kid, wanna see something I brought from the human world?”

Taichi perks up, eyes huge. 

Itaru walks over to the cubbies, where he tucked his phone in under his work clothes. He brings it back over to Taichi, desperately clicking at the button. It doesn't wake up, unfortunately, but the way Taichi’s eyes go huge makes it clear he isn’t bothered. 

“What is that?!” He exclaims, snatching it from Itaru and turning it over in his hands. “It looks so weird…”

Itaru chuckled. He missed being so young and cheerful. “It’s a phone. I can talk to just about anybody just about anywhere, as long as they have one too. I can also look up answers to any question I can think of too. It’s really handy.”

Looking at Taichi’s face, he was almost worried his eyes might actually pop out. 

“I’m going to bed, oaky? You can keep looking at it if you want.” Even if it doesn't even turn on. “Just, put it back when you’re done, okay?” 

Taichi grinned and nodded. “You got it! Thank you Mr. human! You’re really cool, you know?”

“Thanks. I have a name though, you know. You can call me Itaru.”

“Okay! Thank you Itaru!” 

  
  


Itaru took the futon Yuki had given him and, in the neat rectangle space left for him, unrolled it. By the time they were all laid out, hardly any of the floor was left bare. 

Despite the warmth of the futon, a cold breeze blew a chill through Itaru. The windows were all open, but he didn't want to get up to close them. Unable to fall asleep, he curled up tighter, trying not to shiver. 

His eyes finally closed, close to drifting off, when a sharp creak dragged his consciousness to the surface. 

Another one came, a little quieter. 

Footsteps? 

They continued, clearly creeping closer. He squeezed his eyes shut, and hoped he could pass off as asleep. 

The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Whoever it was was standing right behind him. 

He couldn't stifle his flinch when he felt the tickle of breath on his ear. 

_ “Meet me at the farms as soon as it gets light. Don’t wake anybody up. Make sure you aren’t followed.”  _ A familiar voice whispered in his ear. 

“ _ Apr-”  _

_ “Shh. Quiet.”  _ He spoke, brushing a gentle hand through Itaru’s hair. 

And then he was gone. 

  
  


He managed to sleep for a couple hours, groggily blinking awake right as the sun appeared over the horizon. 

He hadn't been up this early in ages, he thought to himself as he dressed as quietly as possible and snuck out. 

Finding his way around was a little easier this time, and the absence of the already familiar clutter and chaos allowed him to relax a little. In the daylight the bathhouse seemed more….normal, he supposed was the word. 

He made it down to the boiler soon enough, tiptoeing past Tsuzuru, who was fast asleep, slumped over his desk. 

He made his way up the stairs then, going slow enough that he didn't run himself entirely out of breath. 

From there it was a short walk. He had seen the path from the window the previous night, and found his way very easily to the stalls where all the pigs were housed. 

Just as promised, there was April, waiting for him. 

The warm smile that broke across his face the second they made eye contact eased all of Itaru’s anxieties from their cold encounter in the elevator. 

Whoever that was, it wasn't  _ this _ April, the April he knew. 

“I was worried you wouldn’t make it,” April said lightly as Itaru walked up to him. 

Instead of responding, Itaru just chuckled and walked past, up to the pigpens. 

Inside were dozens of squealing pigs, all of them pacing aimlessly, eating or sleeping. They were all nearly identical too; how the hell was he supposed to know which ones were his stupid coworkers? 

“These four, right there,” April said out of nowhere, stepping up behind Itaru and pointing to the pen on their left. “This one was put in there last night. That’s what you were looking for, right?”

Itaru looked at them. They didn't look any different from all of the other pigs. Were they really his coworkers? 

Looking at them brought back memories of the other night, seeing his boss turn into a pig. Disgusting.

“You’re not going to be able to leave until you turn them back, so you need to find a way to do that.”

“They can be changed back?” Itaru asked, surprised. 

“Yes. They were transformed by Izumi’s powerful magical skills. If she chooses so she can revert their forms.”

“Then can’t I just-”

“No. She won’t revert them unless a favor is done that balances the debt.”

“A favor….”

“Yes. Can you grant a wish worth four lives?” 

Itaru gripped the railing of the pen. He had been so focused on the goal of getting a job that he had let the long-term outcome of all this slip his mind. He was still trapped, alone in a world that didn't want him. 

Any thought he had next was drowned out by a vicious rumbling in his stomach. His gaze flicked up to April. 

April must have heard, because he chuckled, then reached into a fold in his clothes. 

“Here.” He held out a small package. Itaru took it gingerly. Opening it he saw a pair of neatly crafted onigiri. “It’s been charmed to help return your strength, so don't hold back.”

“For me?” 

April nodded, and Itaru dug in without hesitation. 

The food was cool, but each bite flooded Itaru’s chest with a tender warmth. Before he knew it the first one was gone, only a few stray grains of rice left stuck to his sweaty palms. 

Almost immediately he felt the tension he wasn't even aware of flooding out of him. All his fear, his exhaustion, replaced with only warmth. 

He took the second one. Hardly one bite in he felt a familiar burning in the back of his eyes. Not bothered to wipe them away, he let the hot tears drip down his face as he ate. 

It just felt so good. To eat, to cry, to have somebody wait patiently next to him, as if time was pausing just long enough to let him catch his breath. 

He ate the second one a little slower, savoring the taste. When he finally finished, he brushed off his hands and turned to April. 

“Thank you.” 

April nodded. “I’m glad I could be of help. I’m afraid you will be needing to head back soon, though.”

Itaru looked over to the horizon. The sun had risen quite a ways since he left, and Yuki would be waking up soon. 

He adjusted his apron and started to walk away when a sudden grip on his wrist jolted him back. 

“Itaru Chigasaki.” April said, his voice suddenly hard again. 

Itaru looked back. 

“Yeah, that’s me-”

“Don't forget. Promise me you’ll remember your name.”

It seemed like such an odd request. His own name wasn't really something he would expect to forget, but the expression on April’s face told him he was being dead serious. 

“You won’t be safe, not even here, if you lose your name. They’ll try to take it and if they do they’ll corrupt you.” April let go of Itaru’s wrist, but neither moved away. 

_ Corrupt.  _ That was what Taichi was talking about last night. Could that really happen to him? 

“I forgot my name. It’s been so long no matter what I try, I can’t remember.”

April wasn't his true name? “But you-”

“If you forget too you’ll be trapped forever, just like me.” April’s voice started to tremble. “So...please.”

Itaru could finally see a crack in that unwavering shell. A glimpse into the true April’s feelings. 

Did he always look so...sad? 

Itaru reached forward and took one of April’s limp hands. The skin was ice cold, and yet still felt alive. 

“I’ll remember. I promise.”

  
  


With one last long look, Itaru turned and walked away. 


End file.
